EDC Chair Carrie Hawkins-Charlton, left, Nica and Doug Bellenger, general manager Joe Farrell and EDC member Bruce Schwartz.
A craft brewery that turned a dark, dreary basement into a warm, welcoming drinking and dining establishment was named Lansdale’s Business of the Month Wednesday evening.
Well Crafted Beer Company, at 310 Madison Street across from the Equus Madison Station development, was honored for "helping to define what makes the borough such a great place to work, live and start an enterprise,” according to the presentation at the regular business meeting of Borough Council.
Economic Development Committee member Bruce Schwartz, who presented the award, noted that partners and college buddies Nica and Doug Bellenger, Joe Provo, Rick Solomon and Matt Bolton transformed the lowest level of the shuttered 311 Arts/Masonic Temple into a bright, family-friendly environment with some unique brews.
The level, which had housed studios and HVAC equipment for Lansdale’s ill-fated entertainment venue project, "needed lots of work,” Schwartz said. "They peeled back (laminated) floor tiles and scraped the glue by hand, sanded and refinished to get a uniquely patterned concrete look. They deconstructed the staircase to crane-lift tanks and equipment.”
With new lighting, an open floor plan, a kitchen cranking out healthier options, and shelves of board games and comfy sofas to greet patrons, Well Crafted opened in August 2018. It established a reputation for a wide variety of beers, many using unusual tastes and ingredients, said Schwartz, including cocoa nibs and peppers,
Frosted Flakes, coffee and vanilla, and a Chinese herb known as Pea Flower.
Well Crafted added apricot to its Friarhouse Blonde, one of a number of offerings and events to benefit community causes such as Fairmount Fire Company, Knights for Life, Lansdale’s Reading Freight House and Manna on Main, Schwartz said.
In August 2019 the tables were turned. Well Crafted needed community support when a flood caused a six-week closure. Neighbors including Scent & Sip, Wister’s Barbecue, Round Guys, The Underground, Stove & Tap and Boardroom Spirits all opened their doors to pop-up events and Well Crafted products. The owners found the response "incredibly heartwarming,” Schwartz said.
Today Well Crafted is doing so well it’s adding brewing capacity and looking to expand retail distribution or open a second location — or both. "That second location, Nica vows, will be on ground level — with parking,” Schwartz said.
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